


Persona 3: Dream of Butterfly

by tiny260



Series: Persona 3 Duology [2]
Category: Persona 3
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Retelling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiny260/pseuds/tiny260
Summary: Despite the tragedy that befell her 10 years ago, Minato Yuki has gone through life with a smile on her face and a desire to think positive. Sure, the Dark Hour can be creepy, but that's only one hidden hour every night, and the worst things get is a creepy atmosphere and blood all over the place. When she moves to Tatsumi Port Island, however, she finds herself pulled into one strange event after another. What are these Shadow monsters? What's Tartarus, and why does it appear during the Dark Hour anyway? With the help of SEES, these teenagers strive to find the truth behind these myriad mysteries.The Female half to my Persona 3 duology.





	Persona 3: Dream of Butterfly

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve had this idea rolling around in my head for what must’ve been a year and a half, maybe two years now. This is one part of a duology, the other part having already been posted. This story will be following the female protagonist’s route, although I may or may not be strict to an exact Social Link walkthrough route. I’ll definitely be taking creative liberties, so this shouldn’t exactly be used a walkthrough. Hope you enjoy, I’ve put a lot of thought into this one.
> 
> Oh, and for the record: Lots of nasty stuff goes down, what with this being a P3 fanfic and all. If you’re not comfortable with stuff from the game including self-harm, suicide, death, and all that fun stuff, you’re not going to be comfortable with this fic. Just a heads up.

_Time never waits.  
It delivers all equally to the same end._

_You, who wish to safeguard the future,  
however limited it may be…_

_You will be given one year;_

_Go forth without falter,  
with your heart as your guide…_

* * *

The red eyed girl snapped to her senses in the middle of the eerily quiet station. She blinked hard, feeling like she had just woken up from a long sleep.

_Geeze…_ she thought, rubbing her forehead. _I just totally zoned out through that whole trip, didn’t I?_

She looked to the paper she held in her hand. Well, she had to squint to really make out what it said – the Dark Hour took out all the artificial lights in the building, so all she had to go off was the light of the much larger moon shining in from the windows above.

“Mneh… better head outside…” she muttered to herself, climbing the stairs of the station. She ended up wandering into the city square, surrounded on all sides by coffins. The red eyed girl didn’t even flinch at the odd sight – such a sight was something she just got used to after experiencing it for ten years.

_Shlurp_

“Oh, ew…” the red eyed girl lifted her shoe, looking with a scrunched nose at the puddle of blood she had accidentally stepped into. “See, electronics shutting down? Inconvenient, but I can deal. Everyone turning into coffins? Little creepy, but alright. But the puddles of blood? See, now that just tracks everywhere.”

She went silent, then sighed. “Thank God no one’s around to hear me ramble to myself.”

She ended up tracking back to the same square five or six times, so lost she became due to how hard it was to read the paper in her hand, even directly outside. No matter how big that moon was, it was still hell on her eyes to try to make out what was written just on it’s light. Eventually though, she found her way, and she stood still in front of the imposing dormitory that she would call her new home.

“Hope there’s no blood leaking from the walls,” the red eyed girl muttered as she pushed the doors open and stepped inside of the lobby of the dorm. “It’s always a crapshoot what places bleed from the walls and which ones are hygienic.”

The red eyed girl paused to take in the lobby. It was… oddly warm, considering the Dark Hour. Maybe it was more of an atmosphere sort of thing? It was certainly a cozy looking place. She looked to the gathered couches, wondering just how often she could get away with taking naps on them, before her gaze went to the welcome counter, stopping on an open book with a quill right beside it. Thinking it was the sign-in sheet, she set her bag down and walked over to the counter, only to see…

“A contract?” the red eyed girl blinked, leaning in closer. “Let’s see… ‘I chooseth this fate of mine own free will’? Kinda archaic… But, whatever. This probably has something to do with registration.”

Taking the nearby quill, the red eyed girl didn’t hesitate to sign her name on the paper: “Minato Yuki”

“There we go,” Minato hummed, setting the quill down. She turned to pick her bag back up. “I don’t see any coffins around… Heh, I hope someone’s here at least. Best thing about the Dark Hour is just popping into existence without explanation. I wanna see someone’s face when I show up. ‘Oh yeah, I let myself in. Signed my entry forms too.’”

“Who’s there?!”

Minato whirled around to the sound of the voice. “The hell?”

She found herself face to face with a brunette girl, about her own age, wearing a pink jumper. The new girl seemed just as surprised to see Minato as she was to see her.

“How can you be… But it’s…!” the brunette started.

“I-I know, right?” Minato sputtered. “Never met anyone else awake at this hour!”

“Don’t tell me…” the brunette reached to her side for something that looked to Minato an awful lot like a gun. Minato took a hesitant step back. She was aware technology didn’t work properly in the Dark Hour, but she didn’t exactly feel comfortable testing how something like a gun would work. Especially if that ‘test’ involved a bullet in her forehead fired by a clearly terrified girl, if the wide eyes and sweat pouring at her brow were any indication.

“Wait!” a voice came from the stairs. Minato and the brunette turned around to face a redhead girl, a woman who looked to be at least a year older than both of them. She stood with an air of elegance and almost regality, holding the brunette’s gaze with a look that said “hold on.” A moment later, the artificial lights returned to the lobby, the tell-tale sign that the Dark Hour had ended. The brunette smiled, breathing a sigh of relief at this. The regal woman stepped forward, walking up to properly face Minato.

“I didn’t think you’d arrive so late,” she noted.

“Yeah, well, got a little lost on the way here,” Minato laughed nervously, still keeping an eye on the brunette who nearly pulled a gun on her. “Could, uh, barely read my flyer out in the night.”

“I can imagine,” the redhead nodded. “My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I’m one of the students who live in this dorm.”

The brunette looked between the two in confusion, settling her gaze on Mitsuru for the time being. “…who’s she?”

“She’s a transfer student,” Mitsuru answered calmly. “It was a last minute decision to assign her here. She’ll eventually be moved to a room in the normal dorm.”

“…is it okay for her to be here?” the brunette asked, concern obvious in her voice.

“I guess we’ll see…” Mitsuru replied, an amused smirk passing her lips. She turned her gaze back to Minato, motioning to the brunette next to her. “This is Yukari Takeba. She’ll be a junior this spring, just like you.”

“…hey,” Yukari said, tone polite yet tinged with caution. Minato could only blink rapidly, her brain firing on all cylinders to keep up with the tidal wave of information she managed to graze by. Okay, so these people can be awake during the Dark Hour? Normal dorm, what?

“Uh…” Minato cleared her throat, eyes on Yukari. “Okay, I have SEVERAL questions, but I think the most important right now is why the hell do you have a gun?”

“Huh?!” Yukari jumped back in surprise, eyes going wide. It seemed like she had completely forgotten she was about to pull it on Minato just a few seconds ago. She averted Minato’s gaze, looking everywhere in the lobby except her face. “Um, well, it’s sort of like a hobby… Well, not a hobby, but…”

_This girl is a terrible liar,_ Minato thought.

“You know how it is these days,” Mitsuru cut in, picking up on Yukari’s slack. “It’s for self-defense.” To emphasize her point, she shifted her blouse to show she had a holster on her hip as well.

“Jesus, is it really THAT bad here?” Minato asked, utterly flabbergasted.

“It’s not a real gun, of course,” Mitsuru said with a small smirk. “Oftentimes all it takes is for items to resemble the actual thing to do the job.”

“Oh, uh… okay…” Minato nodded. “So, uh… I wasn’t in any danger of being shot on sight by Yukari here?”

Yukari couldn’t have been trying harder to not look at Minato if she tried, her face going flush. “Uh… sorry…”

“Hey, anything to keep me from bleeding out on the floor,” Minato laughed.

“Yes, well…” Mitsuru spoke just barely louder than her normal voice to catch both their attention. “It’s getting late. You’ll find your room on the 3rd Floor. I suggest you tuck in for the night.”

“Oh… I’ll show you the way,” Yukari spoke up, trying to bounce back from her previous flub. “Follow me.”

“Oh, thanks,” Minato said, picking up her bag and following behind Yukari up the stairs. Mitsuru remained behind, watching them both as they left their presence. Within the next few minutes, Yukari stopped in front of a closed door at the end of the third floor hall, nodding towards the room.

“This is it…” she said, turning to Minato with a friendly smile. “Pretty easy to remember, huh? …Since it’s right at the end of the hall.”

“I’ll try not to get lost,” Minato joked.

“So, any questions?” Yukari asked.

“Uh, yeah actually,” Minato said. “I signed this contract back in the lobby written in this way archaic language. Is that supposed to be the sign-in sheet or registry documentation or…”

Minato slowed to a stop when she realized the confused look Yukari was giving her.

“We… don’t have a contract for dormitory enrollment,” Yukari said, clearly confused.

“So… what was with that paper that told me I was choosing this fate of my own free will?” Minato asked. Yukari only looked more confused at this.

“Um… can I ask you something?” asked Yukari, now visibly concerned. “On your way here from the station, was everything okay?”

Minato blinked. _What, does she think I hit my head on the way here or something? Considering how this night’s going I wouldn’t be surprised, but…_

“What do you mean?” Minato asked. The Dark Hour was always hella strange, so did she mean was everything okay _other_ than the fact that time froze, electronics shut off and everyone but her transformed into coffins as pools of blood littered the streets and the world basically transformed into a living hell? Yukari opened her mouth to retort something, but she apparently thought better of it and shook her head.

“…nevermind.” She looked back to Minato and gave a small smile. “It seem like you’re alright.”

“Oh, glad you think so,” Minato said with an exaggerated sigh of relief. “Now that we have that established, could you help me hang my collection of human heads in my closet?”

Yukari seemed stunned for a second before letting out a short snort of laughter. “Wh-what?!”

Minato beamed, placing a fist on her hip. “I like my humor like I like my coffee – pitch black and thrown in people’s faces without warning.”

This got a further extended laugh out of Yukari at the sheer absurdity thrown her way without warning.

“Seriously though,” Minato said, offering a hand. “Pleasantries aside, you seem cool too. I hope we’ll get along.”

“Heh, yeah.” Yukari grabbed Minato’s extended hand and gave it a quick shake before letting go. “Well, I’d better get going…”

She started down the hall, but paused and looked back to Minato. “Um… I’m sure you still have other questions, but let’s save them for later, okay?”

Minato gave her a salute. Yukari smirked.

“G’Night,” she said before turning back around and disappearing down the stairs. Minato wasted no time in unlocking the door to her room, tossing her bag to the floor and throwing herself face-down on her bed.

“If I were smart,” she said to herself, “I’d change out of my clothes before passing out. Mneh, I have time to change tomorrow.”

It wasn’t long before she passed out.

* * *

**Tuesday, April 7 th**

**Early Morning**

* * *

Minato was spitting out the last of her toothpaste when she heard a knock at her door.

“It’s Yukari,” a voice came from the other side. “Are you awake?”

“Nope,” Minato answered, wiping her mouth with the corner of a towel. “Still dead asleep, actually. I’m just a very active sleep-walker.”

Minato opened her door, allowing Yukari to slip inside her room, her hands behind her back and a big smile on her face. Fully rested, she seemed to be in Omega 10 levels of friendly.

“Good morning,” she said cheerfully. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Like a rock,” Minato confirmed, rolling her head on her shoulders. “Horrible pillows, but at least the mattress doesn’t feel like a hunk of metal wrapped in plastic.”

Yukari blinked. “Um… what?”

“I’ve slept in a lot of beds,” Minato waved off. “I know my mattresses like nothing else. Anyway, what’s up?”

“Mitsuru-senpai asked me to take you to school,” Yukari explained. “Are you ready to go?”

“Oh, totally!” Minato hurried to the corner of her bed, picking up her schoolbag and slinging it over her shoulder. “Saves me the trouble of having to find my way. There is nothing worse than being late on the first day.”

“Right?” Yukari smiled. “Alright, then let’s go!”

Yukari led Minato out of the dorms and toward the train station. Minato was pleasantly surprised at the lack of crowding in this train… or, rather, monorail it seemed to be. Only other students wearing the same uniform were packed inside the moving sardine can, and there was enough space that she wasn’t being pressed into someone’s back. Pretty good plus.

“So, uh… not that I’m complaining, but why aren’t we walking?” Minato asked Yukari as they stood near a window, both holding onto straps hanging above themselves to keep steady as their vehicle moved forward.

“Our stop is Port Island station at the end of the line,” Yukari explained. “Can’t exactly walk to an island, can you?”

“Well I could try, but at that point might as well spend all day at home turning water to wine,” Minato shrugged. Yukari laughed lightly at this, looking out towards the ocean they were passing over.

“This is my favorite part…” she said wistfully. “When it feels like you’re gliding over the sea.”

Minato couldn’t deny that it looked absolutely gorgeous. The springtime sunrise over a clear sky made the blue water they passed over look almost painfully bright, as if they weren’t looking at a real ocean at all but rather an idealized portrait painted with excruciating detail for their enjoyment.

“Bet your last school wasn’t like this, huh?” Yukari asked. “You know, taking a monorail over an ocean to a man-made island.”

“Yeah,” Minato nodded. “No, my last school, we just piled into a giant cat when it turned into a bus and it took us to our classroom in a giant tree.”

“…okay, I know you’re joking,” Yukari said, turning to stare at Minato, “but it kind of concerns me how you said that so straight-faced.”

“I like to make my lies sound true so nobody knows if I’m saying the truth or not,” Minato replied, again in a terrifyingly serious tone. “Like when I inevitably ask you out on a date, you won’t know if I’m pulling your leg or being serious about it.”

Yukari did a double take, face flushing briefly. “W-wait, what?”

Minato laughed, patting Yukari on her upper arm. “Relax! I’m just pulling your leg.”

“Y-yeah, right,” Yukari nodded.

“Or am I?”

“Dammit Yuki, cut that out!”

The line eventually came to an end, and the students all walked out together, making their way towards the large, imposing and very shiny building that stood as their school.

“Mornin’!” a female student said as she passed Minato and Yukari towards the school gates.

“Morning!” Yukari replied with a friendly smile, waving over at the random student. She herself stopped at the gates, motioning with her arm towards the building Minato would call her new school. “Well, here we are… Welcome to Gekkoukan High! You’re gonna love it here!”

Minato let out a whistle. “Can’t deny it’s a nice lookin’ place.”

“Nicer than the tree classrooms?” Yukari asked with a smirk.

“Ah! NOW you get me!”

The two made their way into the lobby of the school, stopping at the shoe lockers.

“You’re okay from here, right?” Yukari asked. “You should go see your homeroom teacher, first.”

She turned, motioning with a hand down the hall. “The Faculty Office is right there to the left.”

She looked back to Minato. “…and that concludes the tour. Do you have any questions before I go?”

“That was a… pretty brief tour,” Minato admitted.

“Yeah, uh… sorry, I don’t exactly have a whole lot of time on my hands,” Yukari admitted sheepishly.

“Then what are you standing around here for?” Minato made a “shoo”ing motion with her hands. “Go on, git. I’ll find my way from here, you have business to attend to.”

Yukari made to set off, but paused with one foot forward. She turned back to Minato, looking uncomfortable.

“Hey…” she said, voice quieter. “About last night… don’t tell anyone what you saw, okay?”

Minato was confused at this. What, did she mean the Dark Hour? Or the fact that she had a prop gun on her? Well, either way…

“My lips are sealed,” she swore, puckering her lips and making the motion of turning a key on a lock against them. Yukari smiled at this.

“…see ya later.” And with that, Yukari made her way off into the school, vanishing among the crowd of students. Minato wasted no time in ducking between the students gathered around the lobby, making her way down the hall Yukari had directed. It didn’t take her long to find the faculty office, sliding the door open and knocking on the wall as she peeked her head in.

“Um… hello?” she called in. This caught the attention of a nearby brunette teacher wearing a pink business dress.

“Oh, are you the new student?” she asked, standing from the desk she was just sitting at and grabbing a clipboard. She flipped through a couple of the papers on it as she walked over to Minato. “Let’s see… Minato Yuki, 11th grade. Correct?”

Minato nodded as the teacher flipped through the pages on her clipboard, mentally bracing herself. Any second now she’d see that special note about her past and then she’d have to deal with how awkward the situation would become.

“Wow, you’ve lived in a lot of different places…” the teacher noted. “Let’s see… in 1999… That was, what, ten years ago? Your parents…”

She came to a stop, gasping at what she just read.

_Aaaaaand here it comes,_ Minato thought as the teacher looked utterly flustered, letting the pages fall back to their neutral position on the clipboard and putting the clipboard back on the table.

“I’m sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I’ve been so busy, I didn’t have time to read this beforehand.”

“It’s alright,” Minato said awkwardly. “Probably wouldn’t have helped if you read it earlier, anyway. Before you ask, I don’t really wanna talk about it and I’m fine. I’ve had time to grieve.”

“I see…” the teacher nodded, looking Minato in the face. She cleared her throat, quickly re-composing herself. “I’m Ms. Toriumi. I teach Composition. Welcome to our school.”

“It’s nice to meet you!” Minato smiled, offering a hand to shake. “I don’t know much about this place, but I can already tell it’s going to be a great year.”

“Such enthusiasm!” Minato’s smile seemed infectious as Ms. Toriumi returned it, taking the teenage girl’s hand and giving it a shake. “We could use more go-getters like you.”

“D’oh stop, yer makin’ me blush,” Minato said lightly. They broke the handshake and Ms. Toriumi cleared her throat once again, getting back to business.

“Now then, have you seen the classroom assignments?” she asked.

“No ma’am,” Minato shook her head. “I was told to come right here.”

“Right then,” the teacher nodded, glancing back at the clipboard. “You’re in 2-F; that’s my class. But first, we need to go to the auditorium. The Welcoming Ceremony will be starting soon.”

“I don’t suppose you feel like leading a lost little lamb over that way?” Minato asked. “I still don’t totally know where everything is yet.”

Ms. Toriumi smiled and nodded. “Follow me.”

It didn’t take long for Minato to be led into a seat in the auditorium, where various students from the three grades were gathered in seating according to their classes. Soon enough, a large man with very grey hair stepped up to the podium in the center of the stage, clearing his throat in the microphone to get the students’ attention.

“As you begin the new school year,” the man who must have been the Principal said, “I’d like each of you to remember the proverb, ‘If a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.’ When applied to student life, this means…”

The Principal's speech, Minato found, was awfully dull, not helped by his earnest-yet-deadpan delivery. It wasn’t difficult for her attention to drift to the whispering of students around her.

“I heard we got a transfer student,” she heard one voice say.

“Yep,” another voice replied. “I’ve seen her, too. She came to school with Yukari.”

_Yukari must be pretty popular around here,_ Minato noted to herself. _Guess I’m the novelty now, being the new student and everything. I give it a week, maybe two before it all dies down._

“I hear talking,” a teacher said from the sidelines, breaking Minato out of her thoughts. “I believe it’s someone in Ms. Toriumi’s class…”

The whispering students jumped, quickly turning forward in their seats and acting like nothing happened. Ms. Toriumi, however, seemed to zero in on the two in particular.

“Shhh!” she said in their general direction. “Be quiet! You’re going to get me in trouble!”

It seemed all for naught, however, as Minato could hear similar whispered conversations all around her. With a welcoming ceremony as dull as what they had to sit through, she couldn’t exactly blame them for it.

* * *

**After School**

* * *

Minato was in the process of gathering her school supplies and packing them away in her bag when she was caught by surprise by a student placing his hand on her desk, standing directly in front of her. She looked up at this new arrival – he was a guy wearing a baseball cap and had a clearly unshaven chin. Minato couldn’t tell if he forgot to shave or he was intentionally trying to grow a beard. She hoped for his sake that it was the prior.

“’Sup, dude?!” he asked eagerly. “Haha, you look like a deer in headlights.”

“Well, you kinda caught me by surprise,” Minato admitted, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Uh… who are you, exactly?”

“Me?” asked the student, placing a hand on his chest with an expression that said he was waiting to be asked just that. “I’m Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya.”

He offered a hand which Minato took and gave a brief shake.

“Ahah, wow,” Junpei winced, pulling his hand away and shaking it. “You’ve got a hellova grip.”

“Well I’ve gotta assert my dominance somehow,” Minato said, tone dead serious but her smirk giving her away. “Anyway, what’s up?”

“Oh not much,” Junpei shrugged, tucking his hands in his vest pockets. “I transferred here when I was in 8th grade, so I know how tough it is being the new kid… So I thought I’d check up on ya, make sure you weren’t freaking out on your first day.”

Minato couldn’t help but be caught off guard by this. “That’s… actually really sweet of you,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her head. “Like, seriously, that means a lot. Thanks.”

Junpei grinned. “Anytime!”

Both Junpei and Minato’s attentions were drawn by the sound of someone groaning. They both turned to see Yukari standing in front of them, shaking her head.

“At it again, huh?” she asked disapprovingly. “Honestly, is there any girl you wouldn’t hit on? Did you ever think you might be bothering someone?”

“What?” asked Junpei, taken aback by this accusation. “But I was just bein’ friendly.”

Yukari rolled her eyes. “If you say so.”

Minato looked between the two, leaning against her desk. “So… childhood friends, related or used to date?”

This caught both of their attention. “Um, what?” Yukari asked, taken aback.

“You guys clearly know each other, and you bicker like you've done this dance a million times before,” Minato explained. “So, either you guys have been friends since Iori moved here, you guys are like cousins or something and have known each other all your lives, oooor you used to date and broke up semi-recently and now you’re in that awkward stage of ‘still attracted, broke up for a reason, so we bicker at each other’ or something.”

Both Yukari and Junpei froze, staring at Minato for a solid five seconds processing this information. Junpei was the one who broke the silence, bursting into laughter.

“Oh MAN, I like you already!” he said approvingly, a massive grin on his face.

“We did NOT used to date!” Yukari insisted, puffing her cheeks out. “And we are certainly not related!”

“Yeah, Yuka-tan and I have been friends since I started coming here,” Junpei acknowledged.

“We’re more like distant acquaintances than friends,” Yukari corrected. “Maybe neighbors, but that’s about it. I’m about as close to Junpei as I am with… with that guy.”

She pointed over to a brunette kid with a plain face chatting with a couple of other students in the corner of the room. He turned to this attention, waving over.

“Oh, hey Junpei!” he called over.

“Kenji, my man!” Junpei finger-gunned at him.

“Okay, so Junpei’s just everybody’s friend,” Minato reasoned. Yukari let out a deep sigh, shaking her head.

“Anyway,” she said, turning her attention back to Minato, “some coincidence that we’d be in the same homeroom, huh?”

“I know, right?” Minato smiled. “I’m glad to have a friend.”

“A friend?” Yukari asked. It seemed to take her a second for her brain to catch up. “Oh, you mean me. Yeah, I… I’m glad we ended up in the same class too.”

“Oh what, did I get you flustered, _Yuka-tan_?” Minato asked, repeating what Junpei had called her in a teasing tone.

“Don’t push it buddy,” Yukari warned, but she couldn’t hide the amused smirk on her face. Junpei leaned in between the two, waving his arm.

“Um, hello?” he asked. “Did you forget I was in this class too? C’mon, let me in on the fun!”

He leaned back against the desk, sufficiently satisfied that he caught their attention. “By the way,” he continued, “do you guys know each other? I heard you two came to school together this morning. A couple of cuties like you, walking side by side… the whole class was talking about you.”

“Ugh… could you just cut it out?” Yukari asked, clearly annoyed. “I hate dealing with rumors like that.”

“Rumors?” asked Minato. “What rumors? All I’ve been hearing is that people think we’re cute, and I don’t see any rumors there. I mean, it’s the truth, we’re both hot.”

Yukari seemed taken aback as Junpei started laughing again. “Wh-what are you talking about?”

“Do I need to spell it out?” Minato smirked. “I mean, with you we have the proper student, straight-laced and no nonsense. You stand tall, have a GORGEOUS figure and project an air of confidence that makes people think ‘oh yeah, she’s WAY out of my league’. Now let’s look at me – new student, air of mystery and a taste of change for a lot of people around here. Striking red eyes add to the mystery, making people wonder ‘What is she like? Do I have a chance with her?’ Doesn’t hurt that I’ve got curves for days, either.”

Yukari’s face was beet red and Junpei was laughing so hard at Minato’s display that he was having a hard time breathing.

“I, uh, w-well… I, I’ve gotta take care of some archery team stuff,” Yukari said, clearly flustered. She sharpened her gaze to a glare at Junpei, although the blush still on her face kind of ruined the effect she was going for. “Don’t try anything funny, you got that Junpei?!”

With that, Yukari stormed out of the classroom. Minato sat on top of the desk, watching Junpei as he calmed his laughter down.

“You good?” she asked.

“Y-yeah…” he breathed, nodding and standing back up. “Hoo boy, you’re a hoot and a half. I thought I liked you already, but now I REALLY like you.”

He looked over at her, seeming to realize he mis-spoke and held up his arms. “Hold on, just to clear something up here. I seriously didn’t come over here to hit on you or anything. If you ever have a problem, you can tell your ol’ pal Junpei about it!”

Minato smiled, hopping off the desk. “I’ll remember that, Junpei. Thanks, seriously.”

“Heh, cool.” Junpei held out his fist. “Want a friendly face to walk back to your dorm with ya?”

Minato touched his fist with her own. “Beats taking the monorail alone. You don’t got any after-school clubs?”

“Nah,” Junpei shrugged as they made their way out of the classroom. “Only stuff I do after school involve video games.”

“Truly, you are a bright pillar that other students should strive to become,” Minato lightly mocked.

The two made small talk on the way back to Minato’s dorm.

* * *

**Wednesday, April 8 th**

**Early Morning**

* * *

As Minato was making her way towards the school past the gates, she overheard a conversation between two female students walking beside her.

“Did you hear the rumor…?” the gossiping student asked.

“Oh, um…” the listening student answered. “Something about… a bathroom?”

“N-no!” the gossiping student vigorously shook her head. “Not that one! I mean the story of the first-year student! Not only did she stop coming to school, she does nothing but sit and stare at the walls all day. If her mother tries to talk to her, she only mutters to herself ‘It’s coming… it’s coming…!’”

“Huh,” the listening student replied. “How about that.”

“You don’t believe me…?” the gossiping student sounded almost hurt, as if she had worked hard to get this information and she was insulted she wasn’t being praised for this treat she decided to give her friend.

_God, that sounds… that sounds like living hell,_ Minato thought to herself, shaking her head. _That poor girl… What could traumatize someone so utterly that they’d just be an empty shell? I couldn’t imagine what it’d be like to be trapped in your own head…_

* * *

**Evening**

* * *

By the time Minato returned to the dorms, Yukari was sitting in the lobby speaking to an older man in a brown suit. The sound of the door closing behind her drew both of their attention.

“Oh, she’s back,” Yukari noted.

“So, this is our new guest…” the man in the brown suit said. He stood and walked over to Makoto, smiling and offering a hand to shake. “Good evening. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. I’m the Chairman of the Board for your school.”

“Pleasure to meet you sir,” Minato said, taking his hand and giving it a quick shake. Upon release, Shuji Ikutsuki moved his hand to the back of his head.

“Ikutsuki…” He laughed. “Hard to say, isn’t it? That’s why I don’t like introducing myself. Even I get tongue-tied sometimes…”

“You’d think you’d be saying it often enough that it’d become second nature,” Minato noted. “Or do you prefer to let other people struggle with that themselves?”

Shuji Ikutsuki laughed. “Well, if it’s easier, you can just call me the Chairman. I won’t mind. In any case, I wanted to apologize about the confusion regarding your accommodations.”

“Confusion?” Minato asked. “…oh right, it was a last minute decision to move me here, right?”

“That’s correct,” the Chairman nodded. “However, it may take a while longer before you receive the proper room assignment. Is there anything you’d like to ask?”

“Actually…” Minato thought back on her first day in the dorm. “There was something odd when I first came here.”

“Oh, you saw something strange?” the Chairman asked, Yukari quietly tensing up behind him. “Like what?”

“There was this, like, contract sitting on the welcome desk when I first came in,” Minato explained. “Like, right where the sign-in sheet is. Talked about me choosing this fate of my own free… uh… will.”

The Chairman smiled politely. “You were probably just tired,” he said. “Maybe you saw the sign-in sheet and filled in the blanks?”

“That might be it…” Minato muttered, not actually believing that was the case. “Um, no more questions sir.”

“Then I hope you have a successful school year,” the Chairman nodded, patting Minato on the shoulder. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

He stepped toward the stairs, brushing off his suit. “You must be tired from all this excitement. You should go to bed early. As they say, ‘The early bird catches the bookworm!’”

He stood for a moment in silence as both Minato and Yukari stared blankly at him. The Chairman chuckled. “…Please forgive the pun.”

With that, he left the lobby and went upstairs. Yukari pressed her palm into her forehead and sighed. “You’ll get used to his lame jokes,” she promised Minato.

“It wasn’t THAT bad,” Minato shrugged. “Oh well. Don’t tell the Chairman I decided to stay up a little longer.”

Yukari seemed concerned. “Um… but you are going to sleep tonight, right?”

Minato looked to her, confused. “Uh, yeah? School’s tomorrow, I’ll probably tuck in around 11:00 or so. Why, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Yukari shook her head. “Just wanna make sure you don’t over-exhort yourself. It’s still your first week here.”

“I promise, playing a few stages of Loco Roco isn’t going to kill me,” Minato laughed lightly, making her way up to her room. Yukari stared after her as she left.

* * *

The inky blackness of unconsciousness surrounded Minato as she slept peacefully. From deep within the unconscious, a voice called to her.

“Master…” the voice called. “Master Minato Yuki…”

The voice seemed to draw her away, pulling her along the sea of the unconscious. When she opened her eyes, she realized she was no longer laying in bed, but sitting in a chair. She looked up, blinking hard to see she was sitting inside of a large elevator, constantly rising with a blue velvet carpet beneath her. Directly in front of her was a round velvet table, and on the opposite end of that table sitting on an ornate couch was a bald, impish looking man with an unnaturally long nose. The man with a large nose grinned at Minato – an undeniably creepy grin she couldn’t deny, but a genuine grin nevertheless. Kindness rested behind his bloodshot eyes. He extended an arm towards her.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” he said in a nasally voice. “My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”

He motioned to the elevator they sat in. “This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter… Only those who have signed the contract may enter this place.”

“Contract?” Minato asked. “You mean…”

Her gaze shifted down to the table, her eyes widening as she saw sitting there the exact same paper she had signed when she first came into the dormitory.

“Henceforth,” Igor explained, “you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return.”

He raised a gloved hand, holding up a single index finger to emphasize his point. “…that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for the choices you make.”

“I…” Minato pressed a hand to her head. This was all too much. “I’m sorry, but I don’t get it. How did you get that contract to me? What’s going on? What unique power are you talking about? This is… this is just too much.”

Igor nodded. “That is fine, for now,” he said in a compassionate tone. Igor reached into his vest pocket and withdrew an object. “Hold on to this…” He held out his hand, and a door key with a velvet covering floated from his gloved hand and passed into the open palm of Minato’s. “There is still one more resident of this room, who unfortunately could not be present for your arrival. But I’ll make sure you two are properly introduced. Another time, perhaps.”

He bowed his head respectfully to Minato. “’Till we meet again…”

And with that, the Velvet Room faded away, and so too did Minato, back into the inky blackness of unconsciousness…

* * *

**Thursday, April 9 th**

**Full Moon**

**Early Morning**

* * *

 Minato sat at the edge of her bed, pressing her palms into her closed eyes. She could have sworn she had the strangest dream last night, but she just couldn’t recall anything. She reached to her nightstand and grabbed her alarm clock, bringing it closer to her face to confirm the time.

“Don’t wanna be late,” she yawned, standing up and putting the clock back on the nightstand. “I’ll worry about it later.”

By the time she reached Gekkoukan’s gates, she had completely forgotten what she was worrying about that morning.

“Yo,” a familiar voice yawned beside her. Minato turned her head to see Junpei stretching his arms, looking more ready for a nap than for class. “Man, I’m so sleepy today… You know, in times like this, it’s best to sleep during class!”

Minato did a double take at him. “I… what?”

“I mean,” Junpei continued, “you ever feel like taking a nap in class makes you more refreshed than sleeping at home?”

“Junpei, you… I don’t… oh my God…” Minato pressed her hand into her face. “Don’t sleep in class, okay?”

“Whaaaat?” Junpei asked. “C’mon, why you gotta be all serious?”

“Because one of us has to care about your grades,” Minato replied. “Do I need to remind you how I bailed you out of hot water yesterday?”

“That was a one-time thing!”

“And it’s gonna be more than a one-time thing if you keep this attitude up.”

Minato spend the rest of their walk to class trying to drill into Junpei’s head that he’s was going to be utterly boned if he spent all of class spacing out or sleeping. She doubted any of it was really getting to him, but she had to at least try for his sake.

* * *

**Dark Hour**

* * *

Minato was shaken awake by a loud noise and the whole of the dormitory shaking. She was soon sitting up in her bed, looking to her clock to see what time it was. The hands were all frozen on midnight… the Dark Hour.

_Wait, can earthquakes even happen during the Dark Hour?_ she thought as she hurriedly went to get dressed. _Well whatever it is, I can’t stay here for it._

By the time she was pulling her shoes on, Minato heard a fist pounding at her door.

“Wake up!” Yukari’s voice called. “Sorry, I’m coming in!”

Yukari burst the door open, rushing into Minato’s room and leaning an arm against the wall. “I don’t have time to explain. We have to get out of here, now!”

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Minato finished putting on her shoes, standing to her feet ready to run. Her personal rule of thumb was: If someone was that scared looking and telling you to get the hell out of there, they probably have more current information than you do. “Where are we going?”

“Downstairs!” Yukari said as they both made their way out of Minato’s room. “We’ll leave through the back door!”

The two ran all the way downstairs, making their way to the rear of the building and to a closed door tucked away in the very back.

“Alright,” Yukari said in relief as she reached for the doorknob. “We should be safe now…”

A beeping noise came from Yukari’s head. She froze, touching an ear.

“Y-yes!” Yukari answered to a voice Minato couldn’t hear. “I hear you!”

She was silent for a few seconds, listening to her ear piece. “What?!” Yukari did a double-take. At that moment, something slammed against the door, causing Yukari to back up in fear.

“L-let’s pull back!” Yukari said.

“Pull back WHERE?!” Minato asked. Yukari looked around, eyes falling on the staircase.

“Upstairs, to the roof!” she said, rushing to the staircase. “Hurry!”

“Is the roof REALLY the best place to…” Minato started, only to jump when the back door buckled from whatever was pounding on it. “Okay! Yes! Roof! Great idea, let’s do it!”

The two climbed up the staircase, away from whatever was rushing to get inside the building. Minato had no idea what the hell was going on, but she assumed NOT facing it head-on was the smartest plan she could be following right about now. Once they were up several flights, they heard the sound of a crash and something breaking down the stairwell. Yukari froze, turning her head downstairs.

“What was that?!” she asked. The building started to shake, and the sound of… SOMETHING climbing up the stairs followed them.

“Whatever it is, I don’t think we wanna see it!” Minato grabbed Yukari’s hand. “Let’s keep going!”

“Y-yeah, hurry!” Yukari’s face was clearly panicked, and her rapid breathing was threatening to become hyperventilation. The stairwell eventually ended, stopping on a top floor with nothing but a door to the roof. Yukari and Minato burst through and Yukari stopped to slam the door shut behind her, locking it tight. She gave a long sigh of relief. “I… think we’re okay for now…”

The building shook once again. Pause. Shake. Pause. The shaking had a rhythm, the rhythm of… of something climbing.

“Oh no…” Yukari gulped, slowly turning around. At the edge of the roof, a massive black hand grabbed hold and pulled up… something. Minato had never seen anything like it, her blood running cold at the very sight of the creature. It was like a tangled mess of black arms, one arm holding up a blue mask with a neutral expression on it and the Roman numeral 1 written on its forehead. It climbed onto the roof, a multitude of arms reaching inside itself and pulling out knives. It began to approach the two.

“Wh-what th-what the ACTUAL fuck is that?!” Minato asked, pressing her back against the locked door.

“G… get back!” Yukari pushed herself forward, standing in front of Minato in a defensive stance.

“What are you doing?!” Minato demanded, simultaneously terrified and admiring Yukari’s guts. “You can’t take that thing…”

Yukari reached to her side and pulled the “prop” gun out, holding it against her forehead as she stared down the monster approaching them. Her breathing grew quicker, her whole body was shaking. Sweat was dripping down her brow as her finger hovered over the trigger. Something seemed to be holding her back, as if she was having a mental battle over her fear of being attacked by this… thing, and her fear of shooting herself. Just as she gasped, ready to pull the trigger after all her mental anguish…

Pow.

The creature didn’t even bother using a knife on her, it just provided a backhanded smack, causing the girl to fly off towards the edge of the roof. She tumbled and rolled on impact with the ground, losing consciousness once her rolling came to a stop.

“YUKARI!” Minato screamed, freezing like a deer in headlights when she saw the monstrous creature stare her down.

Then, it turned its mask away from Minato and started crawling towards the unconscious Yukari. Minato’s eyes widened.

“Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “Nono, not Yukari. No, I’m still here. Hey! HEY, MOTHERFUCKER! TAKE ME INSTEAD!”

The creature ignored her, still walking over to Yukari. Minato took a step back, scanning the ground for something to… she didn’t know. Use as a weapon? Throw at the monster? Anything to take its attention away from…

She saw it.

The “prop” gun Yukari was holding. It had fallen to the ground when Yukari was batted away. Minato wasted no time, diving for it. She felt an air of power around this thing, even though she knew it wasn’t a real gun. No… there was something almost supernatural about it. Like it had some kind of power beyond any weapon she had seen before. She looked from the weapon to the monster. Yukari had put it to her head, right? But she was afraid. What about this thing made her so…

Minato’s eyes widened as the monster raised a knife to kill Yukari.

“NO!” Minato screamed, and in that moment all hesitation left her body. She pressed the tip of the gun to the side of her head, and a word came to her mind, as if put there by the weapon itself. “PERSONA!”

Minato Yuki pulled the trigger.

She wanted to scream, but she no longer had a mouth to scream with.

Her whole body… it was as if with the pull of the trigger, it broke her like glass. She was aware – painfully aware – but she wasn’t Minato anymore. She was hundreds of shattered pieces, floating around as if in a cyclone.

Then, she felt the pieces put themselves back together. Piece by piece, her body was rebuilt… but it wasn’t her body anymore. It was… something. Something new. Something powerful.

“I am thou,” she heard herself say. “Thou art I… from the sea of thine soul, I awaken…”

The glass was no longer glass, and Minato was no longer Minato. She floated above the ground, staring down the monster that was no longer giving Yukari any attention. She was like a mannequin given life, a powerful creature with a harp resting on her back.

“I am Orpheus,” her mouth said without her will. “Master of Strings.”

In her new body, she stared down the mask of the monster that seemed suddenly very interested in her new form. Minato… or was it Orpheus? They were one and the same, so she had trouble figuring out which one she was right now. Either way, while she didn’t know much of what was going on, she knew three things for certain.

One: She suddenly was given power, enough power to fight.

Two: The monster didn’t want to attack Yukari now that she was in this form.

Three: The monster was closing in on her and wanted to kill her, now.

Acting on pure instinct, she rushed forward without warning, hovering above the ground as she detached the harp from her back. The monster raised its arms, but she delivered a slam to its side with her harp before the monster could make a move. It rolled against the ground like a ragdoll, but quickly jumped back to its arms, the mask “staring” down Orpheus.

Not wanting to give the monster any quarter, she rushed forward once again, lifting the harp above her head. This time, the monster had time to react – it shuffled to the side, barely avoiding the harp as it slammed into the roof of the building. The concrete shattered, a crack appearing where the harp had made impact. Panicking, Orpheus turned her head to see the creature swing a blade right at her. Pain wracked her torso as she was thrown back, tumbling against the ground. She pushed herself up, watching as the gash against her torso healed itself. Even with the mark gone, however, she could still feel the effects of the wound on her body.

_Okay… okay, so you can survive things that would literally kill anyone else,_ she thought to herself as she floated back to standing position. _Just don’t die. That’s very important Minato, don’t die._

Orpheus rushed forward, swinging her harp once again. The monster flattened down to avoid the attack, but this time she was ready – she grabbed the monster by one of its myriad arms and threw it across the roof. It tumbled in what looked like quite a painful fashion before it jumped up, landing on its hands in a charging position. Orpheus made to dodge, but the monster charged much faster than she could have predicted. It rushed her, grabbing her head with one of its arms and slamming her into the ground, the impact so strong that it literally cracked the roof at the point of impact. Even in her powered state, she felt stunned by this impact, seeing starts and feeling like she needed to throw up.

But then, her body was overtaken with a new kind of pain. A pain of something stirring inside of her, something that was struggling to escape, as if her body were merely a suit that this thing was trying to break free from.

She felt herself break.

And she felt herself drifting off into unconsciousness.


End file.
